F1 Spanish GP: 'Disappointed' Rosberg optimistic of turning tables

Nico Rosberg expresses his disappointment at losing out to Lewis Hamilton for the Spanish GP pole, but is confident he can defeat him in the race

Nico Rosberg says he is confident he can turn the tables on Lewis Hamilton in the Spanish Grand Prix after being beaten to pole position by his Mercedes team-mate.

Despite Rosberg holding the upper hand over his team-mate in free practice, it was Hamilton that would save his best for qualifying to out-pace the German by almost three tenths of a second.

Disappointed to miss out on the top spot, the third time he has lost out in a straight fight with Hamilton this year, Rosberg is nonetheless optimistic he can prevail in race conditions, even if he admits strategic limits will make it tough.

"For sure I'm disappointed to be second. I wanted to be first today, of course. Lewis was just quicker in qualifying today and that's it.

"Fortunately it's the race that counts so there are still a couple of opportunities tomorrow for sure, at the start for example. Strategy wise it's not going to be an easy race tomorrow, so I'll try to take my chances there. "